Pages

Friday, May 30, 2014

It's Friday, my friends and I'm ready for the weekend! We're getting a little camping in with our small group and we're pumped!

{ONE}

Last Friday was my coworker's birthday and I wanted to do a little something special for her. Normally I make a Mix and Match Mama Bundt Cake for my coworkers' birthdays, but since she's being super healthy right now, I refrained. Instead, I made this cute pennant banner (Pinterest find!) and framed a cute (free) printable that I found HERE. She loved it! (Sorry I just have iPhone photos this week)

{TWO}

I made this Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast and Red Pepper Quinoa for my friend when she came over to watch the Bachelorette. It was delicious, easy and healthy! And of course we had some wine!

We finally chose a granite for our kitchen counters!!! We're having them installed in a couple weeks. I'll be sure to post before and after photos once it's all done. We're excited about how the kitchen will look!

granite yards....fun...

{FOUR}

Last weekend at my parents' house, my sister and I were going through old photos that we hadn't seen before. We found this one of my mom's mother and stepfather. I never got to meet my grandmother because she passed away when my mom was 16. I so wish I could have met her. I think my mom's pretty amazing so I'd imagine that my grandmother was pretty awesome. Isn't she beautiful?!

{FIVE}

I recently bought these three nail polishes. I have the Tart Deco on my toes now! Love them!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

I sat in a brothel in Bangkok, Thailand horrified by what I saw. These brothels are called "Go-Go bars" - they look like strip clubs from the outside but at any point during the "show" customers can purchase a girl for the night/week/however long the customer wants. The ages of these girls vary but every girl that I saw looked like she couldn't be over 18. From what I heard, the younger girls (under 10) were hidden upstairs for customers that were willing to pay a hefty price. Makes me want to throw up.

Most of these girls were kidnapped from the streets or from their small hometown in the country, sold by their parents for a little extra cash or were tricked into working there, thinking that they had taken a waitress job. Many were told that they'd only be a bartender and not be required to dance but were forced into it once they got there with threats of losing their lives or their family's lives.

Most customers were white European or American men. Most looked down and wouldn't make eye contact with me, because they knew that what they were doing was wrong. Most of them probably had a wife and kids back home. You might pass this guy at the grocery store in a cute little suburban town. We also saw women and couples coming in to purchase girls for the night. Lord, forgive them and forgive my judgmental heart.

In May 2011, I went on a mission trip to China and Thailand to help connect girls in the sex industry with local organizations that could help them escape it.

I went to China with one other friend to visit our friends who are there helping these girls. They have started a business so that they can offer them jobs in place of leaving the industry. They provide them with free medical care and counseling as well. We prayer walked through a red light district that consisted of these tiny storage units, used for "business". Girls would sit outside waiting for their next customer.

Then in Thailand, I joined a group of about 20 women with a passion to fight human trafficking. We prayer walked through two different red light districts and met with two organizations (Rahab Ministries and NightLight) that help these women/girls to leave the industry and provide a safe home for them as well as employment.

First we went to Patpong Night Bazaar, one of the most famous red light districts in Bangkok. Here we split up into groups and went into the bars with gifts. One night we had fruit, one night we had jewelry. First we asked the bar owners (aka pimps) if we could give gifts to the girls and surprisingly, they were excited we were there. They let us in immediately. We talked to the various girls, gave them the gifts, told them about Rahab Ministries, prayed for them (if they let us) and then left. Yes, we actually felt safe. I know you're thinking this sounds crazy but I can't tell you how much we felt the power of the Holy Spirit with us. We saw some amazing things! I had the opportunity to pray with a few girls and I really believe that great things have happened since then!

Sorry about the blurry photos - taking great photos was not our goal that night

I could see the desperation in the girls, but they also put on a face that their bar owners tell them to. They are supposed to act like they love it and are having fun. I just wanted to pick up the girls and run. Ummm...yeah, now that would have been dangerous. I have faith that some of them contacted Rahab Ministries and are now out of it!

In a different red light district called Nana, we threw a party with NightLight Ministries. This is where the story at the beginning of this post comes in. A few of us went out to the bars to "purchase" girls for the evening so that they could come to our party.

Nana during the day

I had to sit there like a customer until the Lord showed me which girl to invite. I started talking with a cute little Thai girl in broken English and then I asked her if she would come to the party - no sex involved, a break from the sex and men. I think it weirded her out. She wasn't sure what to make of it so she said no. It broke my heart, because she didn't know what she was rejecting.

I cried as I walked through the red light district back to the party. I'm sure I looked like a fool but I didn't care. I pray for that girl to this day!

The party went well with about 5 women from the bars. They were able to meet other Thai girls that had left the industry and hear their stories and give them hope of redemption and safety.

1) You can pray. Pray for redemption for these little girls all over the world. Pray for strict regulations in the countries that let it happen. Pray for our own country - it happens her more than you know. I'll post about that in the future.

2) Volunteer with an organization in your city. I volunteer with New Friends New Life in DFW which I'll talk more about in a future post. Research organizations in your area.

3) You can purchase jewelry from these organization to help these women stay OUT of the industry. See links above.

4) Give. So many organizations and campaigns need money to function. God will provide through His believers and I find it such a privilege to be a part of that. Here's a tangible way that you can help right now. Nina from Flowers in My Hair is passionate about this issue and provides many steps of action here. She shares about an amazing way to help these victims through musicians with a heart for justice:

"Support Remedy Drive’s album: Commodity | An Anti Trafficking Album through Kickstarter. Go here, watch the video, read about their vision, and then give. This is the first time I’ve supported any Kickstarter campaign and with my moving expenses + the job search, I could not give as much as I wanted to. I basically wanted to pay for the whole album. So then I considered what else can I do? I have this blog that people read and I don’t tell you what to do very often (I hope) so when I strongly urge you to consider something, I hope it counts. It needs to count now."

I hope this was enlightening! I have so much more to say but I don't want to lose your attention so I'll share in another post. This issue is so HUGE in the US and should not be overlooked. This was my international experience, but soon I'll be share about my domestic experience.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

I feel like the best way to share our wedding ceremony with you is through pictures. Enjoy!

October 19, 2013

Kevin's grandpa was a groomsmen :)

Instead of my dad or stepdad walking me down the aisle, I had them and my mom "give me away" at the alter. I couldn't decide between them, because they both have been such great fathers to me growing up.

(Ignore the empty chairs. So many people came late that they were standing back by the barn. I wish they would have made them go sit down....oh well)

Our mentors came up to give us marital advice and pray over our future marriage.

Kevin's "adopted" brother performed the ceremony which was pretty meaningful.

We don't have a single "normal" photo of this moment. That sun was killing us! Kevin could barely open his eyes. Ha!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Hey friends! It's been a fun, busy holiday weekend! We got to spend time with family and hike around Enchanted Rock State Park - a place I grew up exploring with my dad and sisters. It was quite rainy in our part of Texas this weekend, but it was still fun. I did bust it once and might have a sore booty because of it. Thank goodness there are no photos of that!! Haha!

I'll be linking back up with Cassie Lee and Cassie again next week when I have a tad more time to write! :)

Friday, May 23, 2014

Woo hoo!!! It's Memorial Day weekend and we have a day off of work! SO excited!!! This week I'm doing 5 things on my wish list. These are items that I'm not going to spend the money on right now but hey, they're good gift ideas...wink, wink...Kevin.

{ONE}

This past weekend, I bought these shorts from Target for $19.99 and I AM IN LOVE! They fit me just like my JCrew chinos but they're cheaper! I really want some more since I know they fit me so well. They have them in a variety of colors and lengths. I realized that I'm definitely getting older - I go for the longer shorts and bought a modest swimsuit! :)

I have heard over and over how amazing the Clarisonic is. I normally don't use anything fancy for my face and my skin has aged well...we'll see what happens when I have kids! But I figure I should start now...prevent those wrinkles as soon as I can. I can start at 31, right?!

I am a huge smoothie girl! I make one every morning for breakfast. They're full of nutrition and easy to drink on my way to work. For years I've used a blender (I currently have a Ninja) but since getting married, have used a knock-off version of the Nutribullet. It's great to just make one serving in the cup I'm going to be drinking out of. Its much cleaner and dirties up a lot fewer dishes. My only problem - it doesn't blend well at all! Somehow it can blend ice, but not a banana. I'm constantly drinking chunks of fruit and they won't go up my straw. It's a tough life, I know.

The Nutribullet is too expensive for now, but I really hope to get one someday! I've heard it has magical powers...

I see Stella & Dot jewelry ALL over the place, yet I don't own a single piece. I've been eyeing the amity drop earrings and the serenity stone drop earrings for quite some time. The good news...be on the lookout for a Stella & Dot related post and possible giveaway! Maybe I'll finally get those earrings!

About Me

Hi! I'm Kelli. I'm a Texan, married to the love of my life, a follower of Jesus Christ, foster mom, full-time CPA, love our two doggies Riley and Luci, am obsessed with the color green, love traveling, and will try just about any type of food you give me! I'd love to read your comments, so please leave one!!